A MacBook Pro laptop is the newest acquisition in the Smithsonian’s National Numismatic Collection , the collection of record for the United States monetary system. Though it may appear ordinary, its story is not: This MacBook helped the U.S.
government trace and seize billions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency. The laptop and the case around it reveal how our understanding of cryptocurrency has changed since its inception and why this evolution matters. Since the emergence of Bitcoin in 2009, cryptocurrencies have become a global phenomenon used by millions of consumers and businesses to make payments and move and store money.
Cryptocurrencies are often in the headlines because of their volatility, their role in illicit trade, their lack of regulation, and the personalities of their leading investors and advocates. As the curator of the National Numismatic Collection (NNC), I am responsible for collecting objects that document major developments in money today for the museum visitors and researchers of tomorrow. But throughout the meteoric rise of cryptocurrencies over the past decade I have struggled with a curatorial conundrum: How do I collect physical objects to document a digital currency? It’s a challenge, particularly for a self-proclaimed Luddite like me whose job involves curating a collection that spans more than 4,000 years and contains items such as fragile cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, exquisitely engraved silver coins from ancient Greece, fl.